The St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a top-to-bottom rebuild and their starting rotation has seen a lot of turmoil over the last several months.

The Cardinals traded starting pitcher Sonny Gray and first baseman Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox, which netted the organization starting pitchers Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins in return.

With so much turnover in the starting rotation, there's been speculation on what the rotation will look like next season and who the Opening Day starter will be.

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In a recent episode of the Cardinal Territory podcast, former St. Louis players Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn and Jim Hayes of the FanDuel Sports Network speculated on who the potential Opening Day starter could be next season.

"Unless you have a rotation of veterans and you have a clear-cut guy, it's a pretty cool process to go through in spring training," Gibson said on the podcast. "Everybody wants to do it. I think that's something that's going to be a pretty big honor for whoever it is. Right now, maybe (the Opening Day starter is) not on the team. I'd say it's probably Dustin May."

Hayes also casted a vote for May as the Opening Day starter but also mentioned Matthew Liberatore as a potential option, as well.

"As it stands now I'd say it's May with (Liberatore) in the discussion depending on how things go at spring training," Hayes said on the podcast. "I know you guys are both (Liberatore) guys. I have a feeling this can be a really good year for Liberatore."

May is a new addition to the team. He signed a one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals this offseason with a $20 million mutual option for 2027.

May is coming off an up-and-down 2026. His tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which began when he was selected in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft, came to an end and he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox on July 31.

May posted a 4.93 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 132.1 innings pitched across 25 appearances (23 starts). His 25 outings were by far the most in a single season in his career.

Liberatore, who's been with the St. Louis organization since 2020, is coming off his best season as a major leaguer.

In his first full year as a starting pitcher, Liberatore had a 4.21 ERA and fanned 122 batters in 151.2 innings pitched across 29 starts. His starts, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched were all single-season career-highs.

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